If the 4th machine does fail I can easily recommend the Vibiemme machines. If you are seriously looking at somehting that can last a lifetime and be passed on to the next generation. My Super Domobar is built like a tank compared to other E61's that I have seen and used. The ability to switch from tank to tankless at any time is also a real plus. Temp stability is really good as well even though its an HX. The dealer that sold it to me could have sold me the DB model but he told me that it wasn't necessary and so I took his advice even though I could have paid more for the DB + PID. The group head is massive and everything is top notch quality. Theres no extras to buy such as hoses/connect kits and expensive timers like the Vivaldi. I bought a heavy duty digital timer for $15 and its been fabulous.

The breville is slick I will give you that, I tested one at Clive's. But you know I am an old school kinda gal and I am glad I got my HX as not shiny as he is I know he is robust and I love he is portable!

My outlet, cord and 15 amp breaker are in order and can handle the 1700W appliance.

In Golden we are at the end of the power line and thus more sensitive to power surges which can scramble electronics. he does suggest surge protection. What I have learned, which many of you probably already know, is that power bars can only take so many surges and then no longer offer surge protection so for the protection of electronic they need to be updated every so often.

The simpler solution for all my electronics and appliances will be to install a "whole house" surge protector on the box. After that I will keep the machine on it's own outlet. after that, the "surge" explanation would be eliminated. there should be no problem for the machine to receive adequate power either.

At least that should all be sorted no matter what machine I ultimately use and unless there is some other kind of weird voodoo that I am emitting then I will take the "operator" out of the equation.

That does sound plausible, and whole house surge protection would protect all those other appliances that you don't particularly think of as having an electronic brain in (oven, washer, heating timer, etc. etc.). I suspect that being on the end of the line, you'd also be more sensitive to undervoltage situations, particularly when everyone's air con kicks in at once.

Surge protection on the whole house is a good idea but bear in mind that only deals with big fluctuations like a lightning strike or power going out and back on. That will kill an appliance instantly but what finishes them over time is continual small spikes that a whole house protection won't save you from. I would get a surge suppressor for the machine at the wall as well - the good ones will tell you when they are no longer providing protection with a flashing light or better an alarm if the socket is hidden behind the machine.

Surge protection on the whole house is a good idea but bear in mind that only deals with big fluctuations like a lightning strike or power going out and back on. That will kill an appliance instantly but what finishes them over time is continual small spikes that a whole house protection won't save you from. I would get a surge suppressor for the machine at the wall as well - the good ones will tell you when they are no longer providing protection with a flashing light or better an alarm if the socket is hidden behind the machine.

Thanks for that. This whole experience is stuff that I have never considered before. Generally I have not had difficulty with any of my appliances except the DBD. so questions come up:

Is the DBD more sensitive than other appliances and/or espresso machines? or is this a potential problem that is emerging with increased reliance on "computer brains"?

What are other coffeegeeks doing to protect their machine regardless of brand? I haven't seen or heard of the "brain scrambling" issue come up so either machines are designed for standard electrical systems in north america or people are taking specific measures to protect their machines?

So, surge protection on the box for big surges, machine plugged into it's own outlet in the kitchen which will straight power with reduced effect from other appliance use (hopefully this controls both getting enough power as well as not getting too much power). And my next consideration may be device specific surge protection against the daily smaller surges (I'll clear that with Breville since they are saying not to use power strips).

anyway, enough rambling. My question is: what are other coffeegeeks doing regarding your power supply to your machine and why?

Whole house surge protection in, new machine in on a medium duty 3 meter extension cord into dedicated outlet for the Machine. Not using a surge protection at the outlet, although I buy the point made previously only because Breville is advising against the use of a a power strip. We'll see...

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